Celebrating Excellence: Trainer/Educator of the Year
Trainer / Educator of The Year 2024
Finalists for Digital Women Awards Trainer / Educator of The Year
The role of trainers and educators is so important. They are the guiding lights, helping individuals and businesses navigate the complexities of the digital world with expertise and innovation. The Digital Women Awards recognise these exceptional individuals who have demonstrated outstanding talent, dedication, and impact in their fields. This year, the finalists for the Trainer/Educator of the Year category have shown remarkable achievements and have made significant contributions to digital education.
Let’s celebrate their accomplishments and learn what makes them stand out in the digital education space.
Dr. Marzia Bolpagni - Mace
About: Dr. Marzia Bolpagni is a civil engineer specialising in digital technologies. She is a leader in digital strategy and applications, with a significant impact at both company and international levels.
Reason for Shortlisting: Marzia's work on the EU standard for digital engineering and her role as an educator and mentor at various universities showcases her dedication to advancing digital transformation and STEM careers. Her contributions to industry and academia are exemplary.
Kelly Sheppard - Sleeping Giant Media
About: Kelly Sheppard is a Senior Technical SEO Lead at Sleeping Giant Media, specialising in entities and structured data. She has a background in IT security and website design, with a passion for SEO since 2008.
Reason for Shortlisting: Kelly enjoys sharing her extensive SEO knowledge through various training workshops and sessions. She is writing a book on structured data for beginners and has contributed to industry publications. Her dedication to educating others in SEO sets her apart.
Tara Annison - Twinstake
About: Tara Annison is a crypto educator who has been tirelessly teaching individuals and organisations about crypto for the last nine years. She started her career at HSBC, creating internal websites to educate colleagues about digital trends and new technologies.
Reason for Shortlisting: Tara has led education efforts at Elliptic, developed educational products, and trained various international and national police forces and FTSE 100 companies. Her extensive speaking engagements and publications showcase her dedication to crypto education. She has also written hundreds of pieces of content and reports on web3 topics and authored a children’s Bitcoin book.
Holly Kelly - Anicca Digital
About: Holly Kelly is the Head of Paid Media at Anicca Digital, leading a team and delivering training content both internally and externally.
Reason for Shortlisting: Holly has expanded her skill set to cover various paid media channels and stepped outside her comfort zone to build her personal brand. Her speaking engagements and contributions to industry publications highlight her dedication to sharing her expertise and engaging with the digital community.
Rhea Freeman - Rhea Freeman PR
About: Rhea Freeman is a multi-award-winning PR adviser, social media and brand expert, and podcaster. She is passionate about helping brands promote themselves on a budget through coaching, mentoring, and training.
Reason for Shortlisting: Rhea is a Meta Lead Trainer and supports numerous brands and small businesses through her training and mentoring programmes. Her extensive media presence and dedication to sharing her expertise have made a significant impact on her clients' PR and social media strategies.
Emma York - Fresh Approach Digital
About: Emma York is a social media trainer, mentor, digital marketing specialist, and owner of Fresh Approach Digital. Eleven years ago, she transitioned from a marketing executive role to help more people through her passion for the leisure marine industry.
Reason for Shortlisting: Emma has significantly developed digital marketing in the UK leisure marine industry. In 2024, she has helped over 70 organisations and provided 2100 minutes of mentoring, delivering uniquely designed campaigns and courses tailored to each client.
Melanie Boylan - STOMP Social Media Training Ltd
About: Melanie Boylan is passionate about training people in productive and effective social media and offline marketing. She creates custom trainings that help clients achieve their goals at a manageable pace.
Reason for Shortlisting: Melanie has met her 2024 goals, bringing in clients and expanding her knowledge in AI to better serve her clients. She has actively spoken at numerous events, demonstrating her commitment to leading by example and providing high-quality, tailored training.
Emma Peries - Digital Mother
About: Emma Peries, known as Digital Mother, is a social media and digital marketing consultant and trainer with over 20 years of experience. She launched Digital Mother in 2017, offering social media management, training, workshops, membership, and consultancy.
Reason for Shortlisting: Emma has achieved substantial growth for her clients, such as IT Naturally, through innovative strategies like LinkedIn newsletters. She successfully launched the Digital Mother Club, helping female solopreneurs master Instagram and LinkedIn. Her dedication to impactful training has made a significant difference in her clients' social media success.
Becci McEvoy - Be Heard Socials
About: Becci McEvoy is an award-winning social media marketer and international speaker specialising in content strategy and organic growth. She focuses on simplifying social media for women-owned businesses.
Reason for Shortlisting: Becci launched the Boss Your Socials Club, providing affordable social media expertise and support for female entrepreneurs. Her commitment to empowering women and making social media marketing accessible has created a supportive and impactful community.
Roisin Skinner - Roisin Events and Skills LTD
About: Roisin Skinner is a training creator and event MC who took her business full-time in March 2024. She develops bespoke training programmes across various sectors.
Reason for Shortlisting: Roisin created and managed the YouTube Health Accelerator, significantly exceeding participation targets. Her innovative approach and cross-sector experience bring passion and enthusiasm to every training she delivers.
Lisa Rees - Wonderful World of Websites
About: Lisa Rees, also known as Website Wonder Woman, has been running her website business since 2015, focusing on WordPress website creation, support, training, and strategy.
Reason for Shortlisting: Lisa's mission to empower women through website skills has helped over 500 women grow their businesses online. Her community support and dedication to making tech accessible and fun have earned her numerous awards and recognition.
Fab Giovanetti - Alt Marketing School
About: Fab Giovanetti is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and marketer. She is the CEO of Alt Marketing School, aiming to make marketing more impactful, accessible, inclusive, and fun.
Reason for Shortlisting: Fab's innovative approach to marketing education and her commitment to diversity and inclusion have made a significant impact. The school's scholarship programme empowers marketers from diverse backgrounds, reflecting Fab's dedication to transforming the marketing industry.
Michelle Betts - ByJove Media
About: Michelle Betts has been running ByJove Media for 15 years, providing social media training, audits, coaching, and consultancy.
Reason for Shortlisting: Michelle's affordable services have helped over 1000 people improve their social media presence. Her work with local events and immersive experiences demonstrates her ability to develop brand voice and engage audiences effectively.
Elizabeth Booi - Phambily Analytics
About: Elizabeth Booi is a prominent South African academic known for her contributions to business intelligence and data analytics. She specialises in statistics, data mining, decision science, and operations research, with the aim of enhancing data literacy and IT integration in education and startup companies.
Reason for Shortlisting: Elizabeth has developed innovative facilitation techniques to foster a deeper understanding of data science among students and professionals. Her leadership at Phambily Analytics drives the company’s growth and significantly contributes to the broader field of data analytics in Africa. She is dedicated to promoting data literacy and mentoring emerging analysts and students.
Karen Duncan - PonyPonyPony Courses
About: Karen Duncan is a social media marketing trainer with a faff-free approach. She runs workshops, challenges, and consultations to help small businesses get visible online.
Reason for Shortlisting: Karen's accessible and fun courses empower individuals with different learning needs to effectively use social media. Her achievements include introducing innovative courses and winning awards for her engaging training sessions. She uses dyslexia-friendly fonts and subtitles to make her courses inclusive and has been recognised as an LGBT+ friendly business.
Each of these remarkable women has demonstrated exceptional talent and commitment to empowering others through their unique approaches to training and mentorship. They have not only advanced their fields but also inspired countless individuals and businesses to reach their full potential in the digital world. We celebrate their achievements and look forward to seeing the continued impact they will undoubtedly make. Congratulations to all the finalists for their outstanding contributions to digital education.
The Digital Women Awards are proud to celebrate these extraordinary individuals.
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